Definition: funny guys

Funny guys are people, male or female, who tell jokes as a means of avoiding intimacy. They can be entertaining in small doses but often prove boorish and irritating over longer periods.
Funny guys often try standup comedy but rarely succeed because stand up comedy is about speaking from a character. Funny guys eschew character in favor of just trying to make people laugh at any cost. Their humor feels random and without purpose other than attention seeking. You can leave the company of a funny guy after hours of exposure and realize you know nothing about him or her.

Dealing with Funny Guys

* Don't try to out-funny a funny guy. This is will make you competitive and you will lose. You can't out-clown a clown.

* Steal and distribute the spotlight. This is the same technique you would apply when dealing with loudmouths and so called alphas. Funny guys often monopolize the conversation. But it only seems as if people want to listen to him or her tell jokes. In reality people want to be part of a group that is participatory in nature.

Wait for a break in the funny guys routine (or make one by using their name) and then say to her something such as, "Nice story Sarah." Then immediately go to someone else in the group who wants to be involved. "What did you think of that movie Bob?"

Do not try to tell a story yourself. Your job here is to involve the group. Your funny guy will be left hanging and people in the group will love you for being considerate to everyone.

Bob will then turn to tell the story to you and Sarah will be cut out. Easy as pie.

Also remember that the person who controls the group is not the one everyone listens to. It's the one everyone talks to.